Chief of Party, Iraq Civic Engagement Activity, USAID/Iraq At Mercy Corps

Position is contingent on funding.

About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has worked across Iraq’s 18 governorates since 2003, implementing relief and development programming, more than a third of which has focused on the specific needs of internally displaced persons. Mercy Corps Iraq’s goal is to work with new and existing civil society, public and private sector partners to meet immediate and long-term needs by strengthening communities’ ability to rebuild amidst increasing crises. Mercy Corps Iraq focuses on (1) a relief-to-resilience pathway to meet the needs of conflict-affected communities leveraging agency expertise in conflict management and civil society development (2) a humanitarian response that empowers conflict-affected populations to meet their own needs (3) partnering with conflict-affected adolescents to address their diverse needs, promoting leadership and linkages with civil society.

Mercy Corps is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) to lead implementation of the anticipated five-year USAID-funded Iraq Civic Engagement Activity (ICEA). The proposed program will fostering a more politically engaged citizenry in Iraq, enhancing trust and participation in the country’s democratic processes. This activity seeks to elevate civic literacy, empower citizens to actively engage and contribute to discussions on issues of concern. Equipping citizens with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate effectively in the democratic processes. This includes fostering awareness of governmental processes, promoting access to accurate media content, facilitating increased engagement with government entities at various levels, and empowering citizens to participate in public life. The expected result is a more resilient and participatory democracy in Iraq, with a particular emphasis on empowering marginalized groups.

The Position

The COP will provide overall leadership, management, and strategic vision for the implementation of the anticipated Activity, ensuring that the program meets its targets and deliverables on time and within budget. The COP will supervise all program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies as well as all donor rules and regulations. The COP will be the primary representative for the program with stakeholders including USAID, government entities, and all other partners.

Essential Responsibilities
STRATEGY AND VISION

Provide overall technical and administrative leadership and expertise. Responsible for administering and managing the implementation of the activity and has the overall responsibility for assuring that all assistance provided is technically sound and appropriate to meet activity objectives.
Lead the development of a vision and strategy for the program shared with the program team and key stakeholders.
Play an active role in identifying and developing new initiatives that foster and/or improve strategic objectives of the program and the country office.
Integrate and embrace all voices into shared strategies for inclusive, peaceful, and responsive governance.
Prioritize collaborative design and adapative management with Iraqi partners and stakeholders, for a locally led program vision that empowers Iraqi organizations and leaders.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Oversee program management and administration for the duration of ICEA. Ensure implementation is on time, target, and budget, using effective M&E systems to assess impact.
Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards, and strategic plan.
Develop partnership frameworks, partner agreements/Memorandum of Understandings, and oversee capacity building for partners.
Integrate locally-driven approaches, gender sensitivity, and capacity strengthening and sharing into all activities, as appropriate. Certify that all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and program participant accountability standards.
Ensure program strategies and activities represent global good practice for systems thinking, resilience, peacebuilding, and governance approaches.
Coordinate with procurement, logistics, security, administration, and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities.
Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Oversee recruitment and onboarding of Activity staff and consultants.
Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of staff roles, and assist with career development.
Provide team members with information, tools, and resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
Promote staff accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one-on-one meetings and performance reviews.
Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
Support Mercy Corps global and regional initiatives for human resources, including safeguarding and diversity, and talent development.

REPRESENTATION

Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant forums in close coordination with the Country Director.
Coordinate activities with consortium partners, subgrantees, government and other implementers as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
Serve as an active contributor and collaborator with regional and global counterparts to promote best practices.
Maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other organizations in Iraq.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE

Ensure compliance with USAID and Mercy Corps’ regulations.
Create and maintain systems to ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with program, donor, and Mercy Corps’ needs.
Ensure sound financial management, including programmatic budgeting, spending projections, and monitoring of payments in compliance with USAID standards.

SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT

Collaborate with country leadership to support preparedness and response to major disruptive events.
Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
Ensure that activities are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.

Supervisory Responsibility

Supervise the ICEA Team. The number of direct and indirect reports will be determined at a later stage.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Director, Iraq

Works Directly With: ICEA Team, Regional Directors, Country Director, Director of Programs, Program Performance and Quality Director, other COPs, HR, finance and operations teams, HQ Regional Programs Team, and HQ Technical Resources and Quality Unit

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging program participant communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

Minimum of 10 years relevant experience, including proven expertise in one or more of the following program areas civic engagement, community mobilization, governance, peacebuilding, youth development, and/or civil society strengthening
Minimum of 5 years of experience in a senior management position, preferably for medium ($15+ million) and complex USAID-funded activities; previous experience in similar roles (Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, or Program Director) preferred
Experience managing diverse multi-lingual teams located in different geographic locations, with experience in the Middle East strongly preferred
Familiarity with USAID rules, regulations, and requirements
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, and a proven ability to network and maintain effective working relationships with diverse actors including CSOs, civic groups, community- based organizations, media, academia, political parties, government, the private sector, and USAID and other donors
Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Iraq’s and similar complex political, governance, and conflict dynamics preferred
Experience with collaborative design and management with local partners, mentoring and supporting development of partner capacity, and transition processes and awards preferred.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

Success Factors
A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members and other stakeholders of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. This position requires an ability to think creatively about civic engagement to strengthen inclusive, peaceful, and responsive governance. They will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, and be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, problem solving, work within a complex and sensitive setting and to follow laws and security protocols. The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Erbil and requires up to 50% travel to other locations in Iraq.

The role is unaccompanied, eligible for R&R breaks, and hardship, and housing is provided in shared group housing in Erbil and when travel outside of Erbil is required. The team member must follow all security protocols at all times.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Ongoing Learning
As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.